archshrk » Watch This!

Even more old school

archshrk — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 01:27:07 +0000

According to a Disney press release…
Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund), the tech-savvy 27-year-old son of Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), looks into his father’s disappearance and finds himself pulled into the same world of fierce programs and gladiatorial games where his father has been living for 25 years. Along with Kevin’s loyal confidante (Olivia Wilde), father and son embark on a life-and-death journey across a visually-stunning cyber universe that has become far more advanced and exceedingly dangerousSimilar Posts:

Even more old school

Old School is the New School

archshrk — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 05:46:30 +0000

Now I understand what my grandfather meant about “back in my day”

It seems that classics are coming back with the benefit of improved technology and improved story telling (and improved budgets, too)

First is the return of the classic mythology masterpiece, Clash of the Titans. It looks pretty good so far but there is a notable absence from the original. Namely, Bubo the Owl. Maybe there’ll be a surprise appearance but it currently looks to be more in the vain of 300 than The 7th Voyage of Sinbad.

Then there’s the Karate Kid. Empire Magazine informs us that “With Jaden’s Smith’s Dre Parker as the new Daniel Larusso and Jackie Chan as Mr Han standing in for Pat Morita’s Mr Miyagi, this still looks and sounds for all intents and purposes like a straight retelling of the original’s story.” Good. The original is a really decent story and despite the campiness of the 1984 version inspired many a young boy to value honor an integrity (as well as take karate lessons)

Between these two and Avatar: The Last Airbender, I think this may be my summer of movies.
Similar Posts:

Old School is the New School

We all scream…

archshrk — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 15:01:20 +0000

On Wednesday, we were over at a friends house and because it was their birthday the next day we all celebrated with some ice cream. Now this was Corbin’s first experience with an ice cream cone so he didn’t even know how to eat it. Julia had to show him and even then he was a little uncertain about how to lick an ice cream cone. Eventually he got into and was enjoying the ice cream like any kid would.

You can see in the video the tentative licking but the ice cream on his face shows that he was making progress. Unfortunately, that excitement you see in the video eventually led to the end of the ice cream as he inadvertently launched the remaining ice cream onto the ground in a fit of gleeful shaking. He didn’t seem too disappointed though. I just told him to focus on eating the cone now. I guess I should have been more specific because he turned the cone upside down to eat the pointy end and the melted ice cream that remained pour out onto the floor just after we had cleaned up the ice cream scoop that he had shaken free.

Note to self: don’t turn of the video too soon or you’ll miss the best parts.

Similar Posts:

We all scream…

See the Grand Canyon for free

archshrk — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 23:56:26 +0000

For those of you considering a trip to the Grand Canyon (especially the Grand Canyon Skywalk) you may want to watch this video first.

Aerial Filmworks is working with the Grand Canyon National Park to film the national park using the Cineflex V14HD. This amazing gyro-stabilized aerial system uses an integrated Sony CineAlta HDC1500 camera. The lens is a 42x 9.7mm Fujinon. All footage was recorded 1080/23.98p dual-link 4:4:4 to a Sony SRW1 deck on HDCAM SR tape stock.

Similar Posts:

See the Grand Canyon for free

Cut the Strings

archshrk — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:06:03 +0000

Found this on They Might Be Giants

This isn’t my area of expertise so I won’t even get into the legitimacy of their “argument” but here’s what the YouTube publisher had to say.

The musicians are wrong: they do need ten dimensions to get rid of the conformal anomaly, as string theory explains, after all. But the song is fun anyway.

The song was included in an episode of the Brave New World – with Brian Greene about string theory.

I don’t need no
Ten dimensions
Ain’t afraid of
Quantum jitter

Cut the strings
‘Cause I ain’t no puppet
And I’m not gonna dance
To your tune

General relativity
Quantum theory
They’ve been put to the test
And Isaac Newton has been laid to rest

But you’re still not satisfied
‘Cause when the two theories collide
All hell breaks loose, and you fashion the noose
To tie it all together with string — NO!

Cut the strings
I won’t jump through your hoops
I don’t believe in your loops

Of string
Cut the strings
Physics doesn’t demand
Any vibrating band Of string

More on the song “String Theory“Similar Posts:

Cut the Strings

Corbin’s first bike

archshrk — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 06:02:46 +0000

OK, so technically its a trike but he took to it like a champ. One thing we’ve noticed is how much Corbin loves anything with wheels. Corbin got lots of other great stuff this year (and more tomorrow) and this wasn’t necessarily his favorite but this is something you have to capture as one of those precious moments.

I’ll follow up with a complete list of Corbin’s Christmas haul when we get back from my folks and for those who are wondering, its Schwinn Roadster 12-Inch Trike.Similar Posts:

Corbin’s first bike

Play Piano Song

archshrk — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 04:43:36 +0000

A friend sent this to me and I thought it worth sharing (thanks Karyn)

We believe that the easiest way to change people’s behaviour for the better is by making it fun to do. We call it The fun theory. Do you have an idea that uses fun to change behaviour? Enter now for the chance to win €2500. thefuntheory.com

But, like most distractions, this reminded me of something else.

Townsville’s cutest cops curb a brutish invasion by a new breed of mop tops in Meet the Beat-Alls, a Powerpuff caper so packed with sly Beatles references it could sink a yellow submarine. Forget the under-15-minute running time–here, Bubbles, Buttercup, and Blossom face the longest and windingest road of their crime-fighting careers, as Mojo Jojo, Him, Princess, and Fuzzy Lumpkins band together to become the Beat-Alls–the Bad Four–a collective that soars to the pole position on the most-wanted charts, sending girls screaming. When the police cry out for help–they need somebody–the girls gather their gumption and go forward with a plan to break up the Beat-Alls: They enlist Moko, a white-costumed monkey with seductive Asian flair, to pose as a performance criminal. Fellow simian Mojo Jojo, who thought he was a loner, goes bananas; soon the other Beat-Alls beat it and the girls bust in and break the news that Mojo’s going nowhere, man. All that spoofing doesn’t sap the Powerpuffs of their superheroine steam: In “Bought & Scold” they square off against Princess, whose daddy throws down the cash to crown her mayor; in “Bubblevision” they’re a sight for sore eyes, even though one of them looks dorky in her new glasses, as a giant ant rips through town; “Jewel of the Aisle” finds them firing away at a gem thief posing as cereal hero Lucky Captain Rabbit King; and demented lout Lenny’s plan to possess the Powerpuffs comes crashing down in “Collect Her.” If you’re old enough to get the gags, allow the title episode to edge out other potential Powerpuff purchases, it’s that clever. Otherwise, whatever propels you, rest assured that not one of these episodes will let you down or leave you flat. For children ages 7 and up. –Tammy La Gorce

Some day monkey won’t play piano song, play piano song – The Powerpuff Girls: Meet the Beat-Alls

References explained.

Similar Posts:

Play Piano Song

Corbin turns 2

archshrk — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:03:36 +0000

Since Corbin’s second birthday fell on a Wednesday, we made a cake to celebrate as a family. Nothing fancy but he enjoyed it and so did we.

He spent the morning at the zoo with several friends which you can see over at Julia’s blog.

Similar Posts:

Corbin turns 2

Blow the Bridge (and other home improvements)

archshrk — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 21:16:43 +0000

I’m not know as “Mr Fix-It” around my family but I can manage the rare project when the time calls for it. After all, I did install my own wood flooring (with some great help) and can safely replace light switches, outlets and ceiling fans as needed. I’ve even been known to replace a dishwasher and install an over-the-range microwave. But aside from those relatively minor projects, I don’t have a lot of remodeling experience. That’s why one recent project really had me stumped.

Now I may be no Norm Abram but I’m a pretty smart guy and can usually figure things out. Besides being able to decipher complex instructions, I can usually reverse engineer anything given enough time.

Usually.

For those who don’t know, we’re getting ready to move into my in-laws house to consolidate during these tough economical times (what recovery?). There are several added benefits besides the obvious financial ones. Moving from a condo to an actual house will give Corbin a yard to play in. Living with the in-laws will give Julia an extra pair of hands and eyes needed when our second child is born and there’s always the gift of getting closer as a family (did I mention they have cable?)

As a result of this move, we’ve been slowly preparing the house for our arrival. We moved Mom’s office fully into the garage (she works from home) and cleared out two of the upstairs bedrooms (there are 4 bedrooms total). Then we began repainting the boys’ room, adding a chair rail and replacing the outlets and wall switch. And this is where I ran into trouble.

You see, the wall switch didn’t work a ceiling light fixture, but rather powered on of the wall outlets – specifically, one plug on a duplex outlet. Now careful attention to detail would allow me to disconnect the old outlet and correctly connect the new outlet with the same results. But it didn’t work. No matte how I configured the wiring, the wall switch was irrelevant. The outlet was always “hot”. I checked the wiring from the switch to make sure I hadn’t mixed up the wires. I opened up another switch outlet to see if the wiring was mismatch, I tried every reasonable configuration and still, no controlling the outlet from the switch.

Eventually we went online and found a ho-to video describing this very condition. I started watching it and thought – “yeah, I did that” and “but that’s what I did”. It wasn’t until the second time that I caught the subtle maneuver that made all the difference. You see, outlets have a copper piece called a “bridge” that connects the top outlet to the bottom outlet. This allows you to have one “hot” wire and one “neutral” wire power both outlets. The trick to making the switch work the one outlet was to snap the copper bridge in two thus interrupting the power link between the two outlets.

You can learn how to Blow the Bridge at 1:12.

How to Wire a Half Switched Electrical Outlet

Elizabeth Lambert can kill you with her mind

archshrk — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:42:25 +0000

New Mexico women’s soccer defender Elizabeth Lambert has been suspended indefinitely after engaging in rough play — including hauling an opposing player to the ground by her pony tail — in the Lobos’ 1-0 loss to BYU in the Mountain West Conference semifinals.

I’m not much for sports (people can get too competitive) but I recognize the subtle fouls that occurs on the court/field but one in a while, someone takes it too far.

It’s bad enough this kind of behavior was happening but even more alarming is the lack of action by any officials (during the game).